A wide variety of epilators are used for extracting hair. For example, European patent EP 0 705 546 A2 discloses an epilator having mechanical clamping devices for clamping and plucking hairs. The clamping devices are arranged on an axle. Each clamping device is comprised of a pair of axially adjacent clamping elements at least one of each pair of elements is drivable in an axial direction so that the clamping elements of each pair can be urged against each other axially. In addition, the clamping elements can be driven to perform an oscillatory rotary motion. As this occurs, the clamping elements of a pair close while oscillating from a first to a second position to trap a hair. Then they maintain their closed position while oscillating back into the first position in order to pluck the hair. Each two movable clamping elements are urged against the one stationary clamping element from both sides to avoid undesired vibrations and an attendant noise development.
Another patent WO 98/05234 describes a rotary cylinder for an epilator apparatus. The rotary cylinder includes a plurality of pairs of clamping elements essentially arranged in an angularly offset relation to each other. The rotary cylinder further includes actuating elements for bringing the clamping elements into clamping contact with one another in pairs in the area of a plucking zone of the epilator, and then separating them again. Moreover, provision is made for at least one control element for controlling the actuating elements. Each pair of clamping elements is assigned a separate, individually movable actuating element.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,041,122 describes a depilation apparatus, which comprises at least one pair of rollers rotating in opposite directions. The roller pair is covered by a shear plate having elongate apertures. The shear plate keeps the skin away from the rollers while enabling the hair to penetrate the apertures in the shear plate to be subsequently caught by the rollers.
The aforementioned epilators with their discretely plucking clamping devices allow a relatively reliable extraction of the hairs captured by them. However, under marginal conditions they do not perform with optimal efficiency in providing a painless extraction with a long lasting effect.
Therefore, an epilator apparatus is needed that enables an efficient, and long-lasting, removal of hairs with minimum discomfort for a user.